Two-step hydrogen annealing process for creating uniform non-planar semiconductor devices at aggressive pitch

ABSTRACT

A two-step hydrogen anneal process has been developed for use in fabricating semiconductor nanowires for use in non-planar semiconductor devices. In the first part of the two-step hydrogen anneal process, which occurs prior to suspending a semiconductor nanowire, the initial roughness of at least the sidewalls of the semiconductor nanowire is reduced, while having at least the bottommost surface of the nanowire pinned to an uppermost surface of a substrate. After performing the first hydrogen anneal, the semiconductor nanowire is suspended and then a second hydrogen anneal is performed which further reduces the roughness of all exposed surfaces of the semiconductor nanowire and reshapes the semiconductor nanowire. By breaking the anneal into two steps, smaller semiconductor nanowires at a tight pitch survive the process and yield.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor device manufacturing,and more particularly to a method of forming semiconductor nanowires foruse in gate-all around semiconductor nanowire field effect transistors.

The use of non-planar semiconductor devices such as, for example,FinFETs, trigate and gate-all around semiconductor nanowire field effecttransistors (FETs) is the next step in the evolution of complementarymetal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. Fabrication of such non-planarsemiconductor devices with minimal variation in the device region iscritical to obtain devices with uniform electrical characteristics.

SUMMARY

A two-step hydrogen anneal process has been developed for formingsemiconductor nanowires that can be used in fabricating non-planarsemiconductor devices. In the first part of the two-step hydrogen annealprocess, which occurs prior to suspending a semiconductor nanowire, theinitial roughness of at least the sidewalls of the semiconductornanowire is reduced, while having at least the bottommost surface of thenanowire pinned to an uppermost surface of a substrate. After performingthe first hydrogen anneal, the semiconductor nanowire is suspended andthen a second hydrogen anneal is performed which further reduces theroughness of all exposed surfaces of the semiconductor nanowire andreshapes the semiconductor nanowire. By breaking the anneal into twosteps, smaller semiconductor nanowires at a tight wire to wire pitchsurvive the process and yield.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of fabricatingsemiconductor nanowires for use in non-planar semiconductor devices isprovided that includes forming at least one semiconductor nanowire fromat least an uppermost semiconductor layer of a substrate, wherein an endsegment of the at least one semiconductor nanowire is attached to afirst semiconductor pad region and another end segment of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire is attached to a second semiconductor padregion.

The method of the present disclosure further includes performing a firsthydrogen anneal on the at least one semiconductor nanowire with at leasta bottommost surface of the at least one semiconductor nanowire indirect contact with an uppermost surface of the substrate. Next, aportion of the substrate that is located beneath the at least onesemiconductor nanowire is removed so as to suspend the at least onesemiconductor nanowire above a remaining portion of the substrate. Aftersuspending the at least one semiconductor nanowire, a second hydrogenanneal is performed on the at least one semiconductor nanowire that issuspended above the remaining portion of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting a semiconductor-on-insulator(SOI) substrate that can be employed in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the SOI substrate of FIG. 1 afterpatterning an SOI layer of the SOI substrate to provide at least onesemiconductor nanowire that has an end segment connected to a first SOIpad region and another end segment connected to a second SOI pad region.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 2 afterperforming a first hydrogen anneal with at least a bottommost surface ofthe at least one semiconductor nanowire pinned to an uppermost surfaceof an insulator layer of the SOI substrate.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 3 aftersuspending the at least one semiconductor nanowire which was subjectedto the first hydrogen anneal.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 4 afterperforming a second hydrogen anneal on the suspended at least onesemiconductor nanowire.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 5 after gateformation around a central portion of the suspended at least onesemiconductor nanowire which was subjected to the second hydrogenanneal.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the gate along the line A-A shown inFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 6 afterspacer formation.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 8 afterformation of a source region and a drain region.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIG. 9 afterformation of a metal semiconductor alloy layer atop the source regionand the drain region.

FIG. 11A is an SEM image of an actual structure including a plurality ofsilicon nanowires located on an insulator layer of an SOI substrate,each of the silicon nanowires has an end segment connected to a firstSOI pad region and another end segment connected to a second SOI padregion.

FIG. 11B is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 11A afterperforming a first hydrogen anneal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 11C is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 11B aftersuspending the silicon nanowires and performing a second hydrogen annealin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 11A afterperforming a single-step hydrogen anneal in accordance with the currentstate of the art.

FIG. 13A is an SEM image of an actual structure including a plurality ofsilicon nanowires located on an insulator layer of an SOI substrate,each of the silicon nanowires has an end segment connected to a firstSOI pad region and another end segment connected to a second SOI padregion.

FIG. 13B is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 13A afterperforming a first hydrogen anneal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 13C is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 13B aftersuspending the silicon nanowires and performing a second hydrogen annealin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 13A afterperforming a single-step hydrogen anneal in accordance with the currentstate of the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described in greater detail byreferring to the following discussion and drawings that accompany thepresent disclosure. It is noted that the drawings of the presentdisclosure are provided for illustrative purposes only and, as such, thedrawings are not drawn to scale. It is also noted that like andcorresponding elements are referred to by like reference numerals.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth,such as particular structures, components, materials, dimensions,processing steps and techniques, in order to provide an understanding ofthe various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will beappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures orprocessing steps have not been described in detail in order to avoidobscuring the present disclosure.

As stated above, fabrication of non-planar semiconductor devices withminimal variation on the device geometry is critical to obtain deviceswith uniform electrical characteristics. It has been widely reportedthat the use of a single-step hydrogen anneal may be used to both thinand reshape semiconductor nanowires. Recent process development work bythe applicants in the semiconductor nanowire field has shown howeverthat the extension of the prior art hydrogen anneal to smaller features,which is driven by a need to build devices on aggressive wire to wirepitch, is non-trival. For example, applicants determined that the priorart single-step hydrogen anneal destroyed all of the smaller features.

To address the above problem, a two-step hydrogen anneal process hasbeen developed for forming semiconductor nanowires, which can be used asa component of a non-planar semiconductor device. In the presentdisclosure, a first hydrogen anneal is performed prior to suspending thesemiconductor nanowires and a second hydrogen anneal is performed aftersuspending the semiconductor nanowires. The term “non-planar” as used todescribe a semiconductor device denotes devices formed with regionsother than the top layer of the substrate.

In particular, a method of forming semiconductor nanowires using atwo-step hydrogen anneal process is provided. In the first part of thetwo-step hydrogen anneal process, which occurs prior to suspending asemiconductor nanowire, the initial roughness of at least the sidewallsof the semiconductor nanowire is reduced, while having at least thebottommost surface of the nanowire pinned to an uppermost surface of asubstrate. After performing the first hydrogen anneal, the semiconductornanowire is suspended and then a second hydrogen anneal is performedwhich further reduces the roughness of all exposed surfaces of thesemiconductor nanowire and reshapes the semiconductor wire.

By breaking the anneal into two separate steps, smaller semiconductornanowires at a tight pitch survive the process and yield. By “tightpitch” it is meant wire to wire center distance is less than 70 nm. Thishas not however been achieved utilizing a single-step hydrogen annealprocess. By “single-step hydrogen anneal” it is meant that the hydrogenanneal is performed without employing the non-suspended anneal of thepresent disclosure.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated asemiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate 10 that can be employed inone embodiment of the present disclosure. The SOI substrate 10 includesa handle substrate 12, an insulator layer 14 and asemiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer 16.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure (not specificallyillustrated), the substrate is other than a SOI substrate. For example,the substrate can include a bulk semiconductor including a stack of atleast two different semiconductor materials. In one embodiment, a stackof an upper semiconductor layer comprising Si and a lower semiconductorlayer comprising SiGe, Ge or SiC may be employed. In the later example,nanowires can be formed in the upper semiconductor layer(s) comprisingSi and the bottommost surface of the nanowires can be located on, i.e.,pinned to, an uppermost surface of the lower semiconductor layer(s).Although embodiments are not shown using other substrates besides an SOIsubstrate, the two-step anneal process described herein below can beused in forming nanowires in such alternative substrates. In oneembodiment, multiple stacked SOI substrates can be employed.

The handle substrate 12 of the SOI substrate 10 includes a firstsemiconductor material which can be selected from, but is not limitedto, silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbon alloy,silicon-germanium-carbon alloy, gallium arsenide, indium arsenide,indium phosphide, III-V compound semiconductor materials, II-VI compoundsemiconductor materials, organic semiconductor materials, and othercompound semiconductor materials. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the material of the handle substrate 12 can be a singlecrystalline, i.e., epitaxial, semiconductor material. The term “singlecrystalline” as used throughout the present disclosure denotes amaterial in which the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuousand unbroken to the edges of the sample, with no grain boundaries. Inone example, the handle substrate 12 can be a single crystalline siliconmaterial. In some embodiments, the handle substrate is anon-semiconductor material including, for example, a dielectric materialand/or a conductive material.

All or portions of the handle substrate 12 can be doped to provide atleast one globally or locally conductive region (not shown) locatedbeneath the interface between the handle substrate 12 and the insulatorlayer 14. The dopant concentration in doped regions of the handlesubstrate 12 can be optimized for device performance. The thickness ofthe handle substrate 12 can be from 50 microns to 1 mm, although lesserand greater thicknesses can also be employed.

The insulator layer 14 of the SOI substrate 10, which is sandwichedbetween the handle substrate 12 and the SOI layer 16, may be referred toas a buried insulator layer. The insulator layer 14 can be asemiconductor oxide, a semiconductor nitride, a semiconductoroxynitride, or any multilayered stack thereof. In some embodiments, theinsulator layer 14 is a silicon oxide layer. In one embodiment, theinsulator layer 14 of the SOI substrate 10 can have a thickness from 10nm 30 to nm. In another embodiment, the insulator layer 14 of the SOIsubstrate 10 can have a thickness from 2 nm to 200 nm.

The SOI layer 16 of the SOI substrate 10 includes a second semiconductormaterial which can be selected from, but is not limited to, silicon,germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, silicon carbon alloy,silicon-germanium-carbon alloy, gallium arsenide, indium arsenide,indium phosphide, III-V compound semiconductor materials, II-VI compoundsemiconductor materials, organic semiconductor materials, and othercompound semiconductor materials. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the second semiconductor material of the SOI layer 16 can bea single crystalline, i.e., epitaxial, semiconductor material. In oneexample, the second semiconductor material of the SOI layer 16 can be asingle crystalline silicon material. In one embodiment, the secondsemiconductor material of the SOI layer 16 may be comprised of a samesemiconductor material as that of the handle substrate 12. In anotherembodiment, the second semiconductor material of the SOI layer 16 may becomprised of a different semiconductor material as that of the handlesubstrate 12. In one embodiment, the thickness of the SOI layer 16 canbe from 40 nm to 200 nm. In another embodiment, the thickness of the SOIlayer 16 can be from 4 nm to 5000 nm.

In some embodiments in which the SOI layer 16 has a thickness that isoutside one of the aforementioned ranges, the SOI layer 16 can bethinned to a desired thickness within one of the above mentioned rangesby planarization, grinding, wet etching, dry etching, oxidation followedby oxide etching, or any combination thereof. One method of thinning anSOI layer 16 is to oxidize the semiconductor material, such as silicon,by a thermal dry or wet oxidation process, and then wet etching thesemiconductor oxide layer, such as silicon oxide, using a hydrofluoric(HF) acid mixture. This process can be repeated to achieve the desiredthickness of the SOI layer 16.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the SOI substrate 10 canbe formed by implanting a high-energy dopant such as, for example,oxygen into a bulk semiconductor substrate and then annealing thestructure to form the insulator layer 14 of the SOI substrate 10. Inanother embodiment, the insulator layer 14 may be deposited or grown bythermal techniques prior to the formation of the SOI layer 16. In yetanother embodiment, the SOI substrate 10 can be formed using awafer-bonding technique. Examples of some known processes forfabricating an SOI substrate which can be employed in the presentdisclosure include Separation by Implanted OXygen (SIMOX) or waferbonding using SmartCut™.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated the SOI substrate 10 shownin FIG. 1 after forming at least one semiconductor nanowire 18 that hasan end segment 18A that is connected to a first SOI pad region 20A andanother end segment 18B that is connected to a second SOI pad region20B. In one embodiment, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, a patterned mask22 can be present atop the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18, thefirst SOI pad region 20A and the second SOI pad region 20B. In anotherembodiment, the patterned mask 22 is not present atop the structure ofFIG. 2. In some embodiments, other regions of the substrate can includeat least one other semiconductor nanowire that has an end segment thatis connected to a SOI pad region and another end segment that isconnected to another SOI pad region. The other regions can be formedadjacent to the region depicted in FIG. 2 of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, one of the SOI pad regions for the at least one othersemiconductor nanowire can be one of the SOI pad regions 20A, 20B shownin FIG. 2.

The at least one semiconductor nanowire 18, the first pad region 20A andthe second SOI pad region 20B are comprised of the same secondsemiconductor material as SOI layer 16. As shown, the at least onesemiconductor nanowire 18 is orientated perpendicular relative to theorientation of the first and second SOI pad regions 20A, 20B. In oneembodiment, the patterned mask 22 can be comprised of a hard maskmaterial such as, for example, an oxide, nitride, and/or oxynitride. Inanother embodiment, the patterned mask 22 can be comprised of aphotoresist material. In a further embodiment, the patterned mask 22 canbe comprised of a material stack of a hard mask material and aphotoresist.

The structure shown in FIG. 2 can be formed by patterning the SOI layer16 utilizing lithography, followed by an etch process such as, forexample, reactive ion etching (RIE). Prior to performing the lithographystep a hard mask material can optionally be formed atop the SOI layer 16utilizing conventional techniques well known to those skilled in theart. For example, chemical vapor deposition, plasma enhanced chemicalvapor deposition, or thermal growth can be used to form the hard maskmaterial.

The lithographic step can include forming a photoresist atop the SOIlayer 16, exposing the photoresist to a desired pattern of radiation andthen developing the exposed photoresist or unexposed photoresistutilizing a conventional resist developer. The etch process that isemployed in the present disclosure is selective so it preferentiallyremoves exposed portions of the SOI layer 16 but not the underlyinginsulator layer 14. If a hard mask is present, a separate etch or thesame etch that is used in removing the exposed portions of the SOI layer16 can be used. In some embodiments, a reactive ion etch utilizinghydrogen bromide (HBr) can be employed. Typically, a slab comprising aportion of the SOI layer and optionally the patterned mask is firstformed (by lithography and etching) and a second sequence of lithographyand etching is used to pattern the slab into the structure shown in FIG.2 which includes at least one semiconductor nanowire 18 and the firstand second SOI pad regions 20A, 20B.

At this point of the present disclosure, the exposed surfaces, typicallythe sidewall surfaces and optionally the uppermost surface, of the atleast one semiconductor nanowires 18, have a first roughness. In oneembodiment, the first roughness of the exposed surfaces of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18, expressed in terms of a root mean squaredroughness, is from 0.5 nm to 5 nm. In another embodiment, the firstroughness of the exposed surfaces of the at least one semiconductornanowire 18, expressed in terms of a root mean squared roughness, isfrom 0.7 nm to 2.0 nm.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure and for tight pitch devices,the pitch (p), i.e., distance from a central portion of onesemiconductor nanowire to a central portion of its nearest neighboringsemiconductor nanowire, is from 5 nm to 70 nm. In another embodiment ofthe present disclosure and for tight pitch devices, the pitch (p) isfrom 20 nm to 40 nm. Other pitches that are greater than the rangesprovided above can be obtained in the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the pitch between each semiconductor nanowire 18 isconstant. In another embodiment, the pitch between each semiconductornanowire 18 can vary.

The width of each of the semiconductor nanowires 18, which can bereferred to herein as a first width, that is formed at this point of thepresent disclosure can vary depending on the process conditions used infabricating the same. In one embodiment, the first width of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18 is from 3 nm to 50 nm. In anotherembodiment, the first width of the at least one semiconductor nanowire18 is from 5 nm to 22 nm.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown the structure of FIG. 2 afterperforming a first hydrogen anneal with at least the bottommost surfaceof the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18 pinned to an uppermostsurface of the insulator layer 14 of the SOI substrate 10. In theparticular embodiment illustrated, the uppermost surface of the at leastsemiconductor nanowire 18 is pinned to a bottommost surface of thepatterned mask 22. The term “pinned” denotes that a surface, typicallythe bottommost surface, of the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18 isin direct contact within another material layer, typically a portion ofthe insulator layer 14, and thus that surface which is in direct contactwith the another material layer is not subjected to direct exposure ofthe first hydrogen anneal. Since the bottommost surface of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18 and optionally the uppermost surface ofthe at least one semiconductor nanowire 18 are pinned, the firsthydrogen anneal typically reduces the surface roughness of the sidewallsof each semiconductor nanowire 18. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 18′denotes that at least one semiconductor nanowire after exposing the sameto the first hydrogen anneal of the present disclosure.

At this point of the present disclosure, the exposed surfaces, typicallythe sidewall surfaces and optionally the uppermost surface, of the atleast one semiconductor nanowires 18′, have a second roughness which isless than the first roughness of the at least one semiconductor nanowire18. In one embodiment, the second roughness of the exposed surfaces ofthe at least one semiconductor nanowire 18′, expressed in terms of aroot mean squared roughness, is from 0.3 nm to 2 nm. In anotherembodiment, the second roughness of the exposed surfaces of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18′, expressed in terms of a root meansquared roughness, is from 0.4 nm to 1 nm.

It is noted that the first hydrogen anneal of the present disclosurereduces the first roughness of the exposed surfaces, typically thesidewall surfaces, of the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18, to asecond roughness that is less than the first roughness.

The first hydrogen anneal can be referred to herein as a non-suspendedhydrogen anneal since the bottommost surface of the at least onesemiconductor nanowire 18 during the first hydrogen anneal is pinned tothe insulator layer 14. In one embodiment, the first hydrogen annealemployed in the present disclosure can be performed at a temperaturefrom 600° C. to 1000° C. The pressure of hydrogen used during the annealcan range from 7 torr to 600 torr.

At this point of the present disclosure, each of the semiconductornanowires 18′ has a second width. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the second width is substantially the same as the firstwidth of the semiconductor nanowires 18. The term “substantially thesame” as used herein in connection with the first, second and thirdwidths denotes that the first, second and third widths are within ±0.5nm of each other. In some embodiments, the second width is less than thefirst width, while in other embodiments the second width may be greaterthan the first width. Notwithstanding which embodiment is achieved, thesecond width of the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18′ is typicallyfrom 3 nm to 50 nm. In another embodiment, the second width of the atleast one semiconductor nanowire 18′ is from 5 nm to 22 nm.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown the structure of FIG. 3 aftersuspending the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18′ which wassubjected to the first hydrogen anneal. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustratesthe structure of FIG. 3 after a portion of the insulator layer 14located beneath each of the at least one semiconductor nanowires 18′ andportions of the first and SOI pad regions 20A, 20B are removed. In FIG.4, reference numeral 24 denotes an undercut that is formed beneath eachof the first and second SOI pad regions 20A, 20B. In some embodiments ofthe present disclosure, patterned mask 22 can be removed during thesuspending of the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18′. In anotherembodiment, the patterned mask 22 can be removed prior to or after thesuspending process utilizing a separate etch that selectively removesthe patterned mask 22.

The portion of the insulator layer 14 located beneath each of the atleast one semiconductor nanowires 18′ and portions of the first and SOIpad regions 20A, 20B can be removed utilizing an isotropic etchingprocess. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the isotropicetching may be, for example, performed using a diluted hydrofluoric acid(DHF). In one embodiment, a 100:1 DHF etches approximately 2 to 3 nm ofa buried oxide layer per minute at room temperature.

As shown in FIG. 4, the insulator layer 14 is recessed in regions notcovered by the SOI pad regions 20A, 20B. The isotropic etching resultsin the lateral etching of portions of the insulator layer 14 that areunder the SOI pad regions 20A, 20B. The lateral etch thus suspends theat least one semiconductor nanowire 18′ above the remaining portion ofthe insulator layer 14.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated the structure shown inFIG. 4 after performing a second hydrogen anneal on the suspended atleast one semiconductor nanowire 18′. The second hydrogen anneal, whichmay be referred to as a suspended hydrogen anneal, is performed withoutany surfaces (i.e., bottommost and uppermost) of the at least onesemiconductor nanowire 18′ pinned. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 18″denotes the at least one semiconductor nanowire after performing thenon-suspended hydrogen anneal, e.g., the second hydrogen anneal.

The second hydrogen anneal of the present disclosure further reduces thesurface roughness of the semiconductor nanowires 18′, while shaping eachof the at least one semiconductor nanowires 18″ into a cylindrical shapewith elliptical or circular cross-section. Specifically, and at thispoint of the present disclosure, the at least one semiconductornanowires 18″ has a third roughness which is less than the secondroughness of the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18′. In oneembodiment, the third roughness of the at least one semiconductornanowire 18″, expressed in terms of a root mean squared roughness, isfrom 0.1 nm to 1 nm. In another embodiment, the third roughness of theat least one semiconductor nanowire 18″, expressed in terms of a rootmean squared roughness, is from 0.3 nm to 0.5 nm.

At this point of the present disclosure, each of the semiconductornanowires 18″ has a third width. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the third width is substantially the same as the secondwidth of the semiconductor nanowires 18′. In other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the third width is less than the second width. Inyet another embodiment, the third width is greater than the secondwidth. Notwithstanding which embodiment is achieved, the third width ofthe at least one semiconductor nanowire 18″ is typically from 3 nm to 50nm. In another embodiment, the third width of the at least onesemiconductor nanowire 18″ is from 5 nm to 22 nm.

It is noted that after exposing the at least one semiconductor nanowire18′ that is suspended to the second hydrogen anneal tight pitchnanowires survive the two-step hydrogen anneal process of the presentdisclosure, while such tight pitch nanowires are completely destroyedutilizing a single-step hydrogen anneal. This aspect of the presentdisclosure will be described in greater detail herein below, withreference to the SEMs shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, 12, 13A, 13B, 13Cand 14.

In one embodiment, the second hydrogen anneal employed in the presentdisclosure can be performed at a temperature from 600° C. to 1000° C.The pressure of hydrogen used during the second hydrogen anneal canrange from 7 torr to 600 torr. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the conditions, i.e., anneal temperature and/or hydrogenpressure, of the second hydrogen anneal can be less than the conditions,i.e., anneal temperature and/or hydrogen pressure of the first hydrogenanneal.

In some embodiments, the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18″ thatwas subjected to the second hydrogen anneal can be further thinned foradditional critical dimension reduction. This further thinning step canbe performed by first subjecting the entirety of each semiconductornanowire 18″ to a high temperature (greater than 700° C.) oxidation togrow a thermal oxide layer or alternatively a chemical oxide layer canbe grown by a wet process. The oxide layer is then etched away. Theoxidation and etching can be repeated on the entirety of the at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18″ to provide a desired critical dimensionto the at least one semiconductor nanowire 18″.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 6-10 which illustrate a gate firstprocess flow that can be used with the two-step hydrogen anneal processmentioned above to provide a non-planar semiconductor device, e.g., agate-all around semiconductor nanowire FET. Although illustration ismade to a gate first process flow, the two-step hydrogen anneal can beimplemented in other types of process flows including for example, agate last process flow. Also, the two-step hydrogen anneal process canbe implemented in gate first process flow in which exposed portions ofthe semiconductor nanowires outside the gates are removed together withany semiconductor pad regions.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown the structure of FIG. 5 aftergate formation around a central portion 18C″ of the suspended at leastone semiconductor nanowire 18″ which was subjected to the secondhydrogen anneal. Specifically FIG. 6 illustrates the structure of FIG. 5after a gate 26 is formed surrounding the central portion 18C″ of eachsemiconductor nanowire 18″. More specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates astructure in which the gate 26 fully wraps around the central portion18C″ of each semiconductor nanowire 18″.

The structure shown in FIG. 6 also includes a polysilicon line 34 thatcaps each of the gates 26 and a hard mask line 36 that is located atopthe polysilicon line 34. Although a single gate 26 is shown on eachsemiconductor nanowire 18″, a plurality of gates 26 can be formed oneach semiconductor nanowire 18″.

The structure shown in FIG. 6 can be formed by first depositing blanketlayers of the various material layers of gate 26 (to be described ingreater detail herein below) on the entire structure shown in FIG. 5.Then, a blanket layer of polysilicon is formed atop the various layersof the gate 26, and thereafter a blanket layer of hard mask material isformed on the entire surface of the blanket layer of polysilicon. Theentire material stack including the materials layers of the gate 26, theblanket layer of polysilicon, and blanket layer of hard mask material,is then patterned by lithography and etching providing the structureshown in FIG. 6. The etch used in forming the structure shown in FIG. 6may comprise a dry etching process such as, for example, reactive ionetching, plasma etching, or ion beam etching.

Each gate 26, as shown, for example, in FIG. 7, may comprise a firstdielectric material 28, an optional second dielectric material 30, and ametal gate film 32. It is noted that the central portion 18C″of the atleast one semiconductor nanowire 18″ that is directly beneath the gate26 serves as a channel of the semiconductor nanowire FET of the presentdisclosure. The channel 18C″ of the semiconductor nanowire channel FETsof the present disclosure forms at a surface of a portion of the atleast one semiconductor nanowire 18″ that is under the gate (or in thebulk of the nanowire when the nanowire has a diameter smaller than 5nm). Since the gate 26 fully surrounds the at least one semiconductornanowire 18″, the non-planar semiconductor device of the presentdisclosure can be referred to as a gate-all-around FET.

The first dielectric material 28 may comprise a semiconductor oxide,semiconductor nitride, semiconductor oxynitride, or a high k materialhaving a dielectric constant greater than silicon oxide. Exemplary highk dielectrics include, but are not limited to, HfO₂, ZrO₂, La₂O₃, Al₂O₃,TiO₂, SrTiO₃, LaAlO₃, Y₂O₃, HfO_(x)N_(y), ZrO_(x)N_(y), La₂O_(x)N_(y),Al₂O_(x)N_(y), TiO_(x)N_(y), SrTiO_(x)N_(y), LaAlO_(x)N_(y),Y₂O_(x)N_(y), SiON, SiN_(x), a silicate thereof, and an alloy thereof.Each value of x is independently from 0.5 to 3 and each value of y isindependently from 0 to 2.

The first dielectric material 28 can be formed by any conventionaltechnique including, for example, deposition or thermal growth, which iswell known to those skilled in the art. In one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the first dielectric material 28 has a thickness in a rangefrom 1 nm to 10 nm.

The optional second dielectric material 30 may comprise one of thedielectric materials mentioned above for the first dielectric material28. In one embodiment, the optional second dielectric material 30 iscomprised of a same dielectric material as the first dielectric material28. In another embodiment, the optional second dielectric material 30 iscomprised of a different dielectric material as the first dielectricmaterial 28. For example, and in this embodiment, the first dielectricmaterial 28 may comprise silicon oxide, while the optional seconddielectric material 30 may comprise a high k gate dielectric such as,for example, HfO₂. The optional second dielectric material 30 can beformed utilizing one of the techniques mentioned above in forming thefirst dielectric material 28. In one embodiment, the thickness of theoptional second dielectric 30 may be in a range from 1 nm to 3 nm.

The metal gate film 32 that is formed may comprise an elemental metal(e.g., tungsten, titanium, tantalum, aluminum, nickel, ruthenium,palladium and platinum), an alloy of at least one elemental metal, anelemental metal nitride (e.g., tungsten nitride, aluminum nitride, andtitanium nitride), an elemental metal silicide (e.g., tungsten silicide,nickel silicide, and titanium silicide) and multilayered combinationsthereof. The metal gate film 32 can be formed utilizing a conventionaldeposition process including, for example, chemical vapor deposition(CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), physical vapordeposition (PVD), sputtering, atomic layer deposition (ALD) and otherlike deposition processes. When a metal silicide is formed, aconventional silicidation process is employed. In one embodiment, themetal gate film 32 has a thickness from 1 nm to 100 nm.

As stated above, a blanket layer of polysilicon is then formed atop themetal gate film 32 utilizing techniques well known in the art. Theblanket layer of polysilicon which is subsequently patterned intopolysilicon line 34 can be doped within an appropriate impurity byutilizing either an in-situ doping deposition process or by utilizingdeposition, followed by a step such as ion implantation or gas phasedoping in which the appropriate impurity is introduced into the blanketlayer of polysilicon.

After forming the blanket layer of polysilicon, a blanket layer of ahard mask material is formed atop the blanket layer of polysilicon. Thehard mask material may comprise a semiconductor oxide, a semiconductornitride, a semiconductor oxynitride or any multilayered stack thereofcan be used. In one embodiment, the hard mask material employed issilicon nitride. The blanket layer of hard mask material can be formedutilizing any conventional deposition process or thermal growth processthat is well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated the structure of FIG. 7 afterspacer 38 and 38 s formation. As is shown, the spacer 38 is formed onopposing sides of the polysilicon line 34 and on portions of eachsemiconductor nanowire 18″ that are not covered by the gate. Spacer 38 sis formed in the undercut region 24. The spacer 38 and spacer 38 s canbe formed by depositing a blanket dielectric film such as siliconnitride and then etching the dielectric film from all horizontalsurfaces. In one embodiment, a reactive ion etch can be used in formingthe spacer 38 and the spacer 38 s.

In some embodiments, the exposed portions of the semiconductor nanowires18″ and the pad regions 20A, 20B can be removed at this point of thepresent process utilizing a selective reactive ion etching process. Inone embodiment, the selective reactive ion etching process can includeHBr chemistry. When the exposed portions of the semiconductor nanowires18″ and the pad regions 20A, 20B are removed, end portions of the cutsemiconductor nanowires, not covered by the gate or spacer, will beexposed. The exposed end portions can be used in the subsequent step toform nanowire extensions which include an epitaxially semiconductormaterial that is in direct contact with the exposed end portions of thecut semiconductor nanowire. In such an embodiment, one of the nanowireextensions serves as a source region of the device, while the othernanowire extension serves as a drain region.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated the structure of FIG. 8 afterformation of a source region on one side of the gate and a drain regionon the other side of the gate. The source and drain regions are formedby a selective epitaxial growth process that thickens the exposedsemiconductor nanowire 18″ surfaces forming a first thickenedsemiconductor nanowire portion 50A and a second thickened semiconductornanowire portion 50B which are not covered by the gate and spacers. Theepitaxial growth also thickens the SOI pad regions 20A, 20B. In someembodiments, the hard mask line 36 is removed from the polysilicon line34 prior to selective epitaxial growth utilizing a conventionalstripping process. In such an embodiment and as shown in FIG. 9, anepitaxial semiconductor layer 50C forms atop the polysilicon line 34.

In the drawing, reference numeral 40 denotes the epitaxial semiconductorlayer that is formed atop the first pad region 20A, while numeral 40′denotes the epitaxial semiconductor layer that is formed atop the firstpad region 20B. In accordance with the present disclosure the sourceregion includes epitaxial semiconductor layer 40 as well as the firstthickened semiconductor nanowire portion 50A, while the drain regionincludes epitaxial semiconductor layer 40′ as well as the secondthickened semiconductor nanowire portion 50B.

The epitaxial growth may merge the adjacent semiconductor portionstogether. In one embodiment, the thickened/merged nanowire portions50A,50B and SOI pad regions 20A, 20B are formed by epitaxially growing,for example, in-situ doped silicon (Si) or a silicon germanium (SiGe)that may be either n-type or p-type doped. The in-situ doped epi processforms the source region and the drain region of the nanowire FET. As anexample, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor may be used toperform the epitaxial growth. Precursors for silicon epitaxy includeSiCl₄, SiH₄ combined with HCl. The use of chlorine allows selectivedeposition of silicon only on exposed silicon surfaces. A precursor forSiGe may be GeH₄, which may obtain deposition selectivity without HCl.Precursors for dopants may include PH₃ or AsH₃ for n-type doping andB₂H₆ for p-type doping. Deposition temperatures may range from 550° C.to 1000° C. for pure silicon deposition, and as low as 300° C. for pureGe deposition.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is illustrated the structure shown in FIG. 9after formation of a metal semiconductor alloy layer atop the sourceregion and the drain region. The metal semiconductor alloy layer can beformed by first depositing a metal semiconductor alloy forming metalsuch as for example, Ni, Pt, Co, and alloys such as NiPt, on the surfaceof the epitaxial grown semiconductor layer including layers 50A, 50B,50C, 40 and 40′. An anneal is then performed that causes reactionbetween the metal semiconductor alloy forming metal and the epitaxialsemiconductor layer. After annealing, any unreactive metal can beremoved. When Ni is used the NiSi phase is formed due to its lowresistivity. For example, formation temperatures include 400° C.-600° C.

In the drawing, reference numerals 42 and 42′ denote a metalsemiconductor alloy that is formed atop the first and second SOI pads20A and 20B, respectively, reference numeral 44A denotes the metalsemiconductor alloy that is formed on the first thickened semiconductornanowire portion 50A, and reference numeral 44B denotes the metalsemiconductor alloy that is formed on the second thickened semiconductornanowire portion 50B. In embodiments in which the hard mask line 36 wasremoved, a metal semiconductor alloy layer 44C can form atop thepolysilicon line 34, as is shown in FIG. 7.

Once the metal semiconductor alloy layer is formed, capping layers andvias for connectivity (not shown) may be formed.

As stated above, by breaking the hydrogen anneal into two separatehydrogen anneals, i.e., pre suspension hydrogen anneal, and a postsuspension hydrogen anneal, tight pitch semiconductor nanowires survive,while such tight pitch nanowires are completely destroyed utilizing asingle-step hydrogen anneal. This aspect of the present disclosure canbe shown in the SEMs shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, 12, 13A, 13B, 13C and14.

Specifically, FIG. 11A is an SEM image of an actual structure includinga plurality of silicon nanowires 18 of variable diameter located on aninsulator layer 14 of an SOI substrate which is formed as describedabove in providing the structure shown in FIG. 2. In this particulartest structure, the nanowires have different starting width: thenanowire closest to the top of the image being the widest, the nanowireright below being the narrowest, and the following two nanowires beingincreasingly wider in width. Due to line roughness, the difference insize of the last three nanowires is only observable in the followingsteps, after line roughness is reduced.

Each silicon nanowire 18 has an end segment connected to a first SOI padregion 20A and another end segment connected to a second SOI pad region20B. As can be seen in FIG. 11A, the starting sidewalls of the Sinanowires are rough. FIG. 11B is an SEM image of the structure shown inFIG. 11A after performing a first hydrogen anneal in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. As can be seen in the SEM, thesidewalls of the Si nanowires are smoothened into long-range steps,rather than higher-curvature bumps. FIG. 11C is an SEM image of thestructure shown in FIG. 11B after suspending the silicon nanowires andperforming a second hydrogen anneal in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As is seen in this SEM, the Si nanowires aresmoothed, without significantly reducing the size of the Si nanowires.In comparison, FIG. 12 is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG.11A after performing a single-step hydrogen anneal in accordance withthe current state of the art. While the single-step hydrogen anneal ofthe prior art smooths the sidewalls of the Si nanowires, the smallest Sinanowires are completely removed from the structure.

FIG. 13A is an SEM image of an actual structure including a plurality ofsmall silicon nanowires 18, patterned at 40 nm pitch, located on aninsulator layer of an SOI substrate, which is formed as described abovein providing the structure shown in FIG. 2. Each of silicon nanowire 18has an end segment connected to a first SOI pad region 20A and anotherend segment connected to a second SOI pad region 20B. As can be seen inFIG. 13A, the starting sidewalls of the Si nanowires are rough. FIG. 13Bis an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 13A after performing afirst hydrogen anneal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As can be seen in the SEM, the sidewalls of the Si nanowiresare smoothened into long-range steps, rather than higher-curvaturebumps. FIG. 13C is an SEM image of the structure shown in FIG. 13B aftersuspending the silicon nanowires and performing a second hydrogen annealin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As is seenin this SEM, the Si nanowires are nicely smoothed, without significantlyreducing the size of the Si nanowires. In comparison, FIG. 14 is an SEMimage of the structure shown in FIG. 13A after performing a single-stephydrogen anneal in accordance with the current state of the art. As isshown in FIG. 14, all the small nanowires (SNWs) are completely removedfrom the structure.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith respect to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in formsand details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure. It is therefore intended that the presentdisclosure not be limited to the exact forms and details described andillustrated, but fall within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of fabricating a semiconductor nanowire comprising: formingat least one semiconductor nanowire from at least an uppermostsemiconductor layer of a substrate, wherein an end segment of said atleast one semiconductor nanowire is attached to a first semiconductorpad region and another end segment of said at least one semiconductornanowire is attached to a second semiconductor pad region; performing afirst hydrogen anneal on said at least one semiconductor nanowire withat least a bottommost surface of said at least one semiconductornanowire in direct contact with an uppermost surface of said substrate;removing a portion of said substrate located beneath said at least onesemiconductor nanowire to suspend said at least one semiconductornanowire above a remaining portion of said substrate; and performing asecond hydrogen anneal on said at least one semiconductor nanowire thatis suspended above the remaining portion of said insulator layer.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein during said first hydrogen anneal, anuppermost surface of the at least one semiconductor material isprotected by a patterned mask.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein saidfirst hydrogen anneal is performed at a temperature from 600° C. to1000° C. at a hydrogen pressure of from 7 torr to 600 torr.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said removing the portion of said substratelocated beneath said at least one semiconductor nanowire comprises anisotropic etching process.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said secondhydrogen anneal is performed at a temperature from 600° C. to 1000° C.at a hydrogen pressure of from 7 torr to 600 torr.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said first hydrogen anneal is performed at atemperature, pressure or temperature and pressure which is greater thana temperature, pressure or temperature and pressure of said secondhydrogen anneal.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising performingan oxidation process at a temperature of greater than 700° C. andetching grown oxide to thin said at least one semiconductor nanowireafter performing said second hydrogen anneal.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising growing a chemical oxide from the at least onesemiconductor nanowire and etching grown oxide to thin said at least onesemiconductor nanowire after performing said second hydrogen anneal. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one semiconductor nanowireprior to performing said first hydrogen anneal has a first roughness,said at least one semiconductor nanowire after said performing the firsthydrogen anneal and prior to performing the second hydrogen anneal has asecond roughness, and said at least one semiconductor nanowire afterperforming said second hydrogen anneal has a third roughness, whereinsaid first roughness is greater than the second roughness, and saidsecond roughness is greater than the third roughness.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said first roughness, expressed in terms of a meansquared roughness, is from 0.5 nm to 5 nm, said second roughness,expressed in terms of a mean squared roughness, is from 0.3 nm to 2 nm,and said third roughness, expressed in terms of a mean squaredroughness, is from 0.1 nm to 1 nm.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid at least one semiconductor nanowire prior to performing said firsthydrogen anneal has a first width, said at least one semiconductornanowire after performing said first hydrogen anneal and prior toperforming said second hydrogen anneal has a second width, and said atleast one semiconductor nanowire after performing said second hydrogenanneal has a third width, wherein said first width, said second widthand said third width are substantially the same.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein said at least one semiconductor nanowire after performingsaid first hydrogen anneal and prior to performing said second hydrogenanneal has a second width, and said at least one semiconductor nanowireafter performing said second hydrogen anneal has a third width, whereinsaid second width is greater than said third width.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said at least one semiconductor nanowire afterperforming said first hydrogen anneal and prior to performing saidsecond hydrogen anneal has a second width, and said at least onesemiconductor nanowire after performing said second hydrogen anneal hasa third width, wherein said second width is less than said third width.14. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one semiconductornanowire comprises a plurality of semiconductor nanowires, wherein apitch between each of the semiconductor nanowires is from 5 nm to 70 nm.15. The method of claim 1, wherein substrate further includes at leastone other semiconductor layer beneath the uppermost semiconductor layer,said at least one other semiconductor layer comprises a differentsemiconductor material than the uppermost semiconductor layer.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said substrate further includes an insulatorlayer located directly beneath the uppermost semiconductor layer.17.-21. (canceled)